Natsumi blinked and Kiri's face came into focus as her vision cleared and her eyes adjusted. Kiri let out a soft sigh and Natsumi sat up slowly.

"Kiri?" She blinked again and rubbed her head. "What's wrong? When did you get here?"

Kiri shook her head slowly and faintly smiled. "I came to see you, of course." She paused. "How are you?"

"Uh... fine?" Natsumi looked around the room and saw Aito, Hana, and Ahmya standing by the door with strange expressions. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Kiri glanced over her shoulder at them, then back to Natsumi. "Oh, it's nothing. They're just a little worried about you and Sena, that's all."

Natsumi pressed her lips together and stared at the three.

She's lying.

"We're uh..." Aito scratched the back of his head. "We'll give you guys some privacy."

They stepped out and shut the door behind then, and Natsumi furrowed her brows and looked at Kiri.

"Kiri, what happened?" She asked firmly. "Why did they look afraid of me?"

Kiri laughed under her breath and shook her head. "Afraid? Psh... no."

Natsumi crossed her arms and raised her brow. "Kiri."

Kiri shrugged slightly. "They're just worried about you— like I said. You blacked out for a moment."

Natsumi's expression softened and she sighed. "Did I?"

Kiri nodded. "What do you remember?"

Natsumi let out a quiet sigh. "We were just talking and eating, and then..." She bit her lip and stopped. And then... somehow... I saw the Nine-Tailed Fox. And he seemed... to recognize me.

She gulped and her eyes rose to see Kiri watching her, unexpectedly serious.

"Yes?"

Natsumi chewed on her lower lip. I can't tell her about the Nine-Tails though... she'll think I'm crazy.

"I... uh..." Natsumi glanced away. "I saw... Naruto."

Kiri raised her brow. "Naruto? You saw Naruto?"

Natsumi nodded slowly. "He looked like..." She paused again. "I think... he's in danger."

Kiri's eyes widened slightly and her voice lowered. "What do you mean you saw him? What kind of danger?"

"I..." Natsumi pressed her lips together again and stared down at her hands. "I don't know. All I saw was him unconscious."

Kiri crossed her arms as she fell silent for a long time, lost in thought.

I've never seen her look so serious... Natsumi looked up at her. Is something really wrong with Naruto?

"Do you think something's really wrong with him?" Natsumi spoke up. "Have you heard something about his mission?"

Kiri shook her head and smiled faintly. "No, sorry. No word yet from Team Seven."

Natsumi bit her lip harder. Then... maybe something really is wrong. It's been so long since he left.

"Relax." Kiri's smile grew. "I'm sure he's fine. It's normal for there to be little to no communication while on a mission."

"But..." Natsumi furrowed her brows. "I saw him... and I have this awful feeling..."

"It's true that there's a superstition about twins sharing a psychic connection, but..." Kiri shrugged. "It's not something that's ever been proven." She recrossed her arms. "Besides, it's more likely that you're just missing him, and worrying about everything here combined with it is putting stress on your body. That's probably what caused your blackout."

Natsumi looked away momentarily, quiet.

She's hiding something. I can see it in her eyes.

Her eyes fell again and widened slightly as they passed over Kiri's arms.

"Kiri!"

The woman quickly covered her arms and glanced away slightly. Natsumi frowned and leaned forward to get a better look.

Long scratches streaked down her arms, with lines of crimson showing through the torn sleeves of her shirt. Natsumi's eyes widened further.

"It's nothing!" Kiri waved her hand. "Just some scratches. I was just a little... clumsy."

Liar. That's my line!

"D-Did I do that?" Natsumi gulped and watched her friend's expression shift slightly. "I... did... didn't I?"

"You didn't mean to." Kiri shook her head quickly. "It's my fault; you were thrashing around and I was holding you down so that you didn't fall out of bed and hurt yourself."

Natsumi gulped again and looked down at her hands, freezing as she saw dried blood underneath her fingernails.

What did I...? How...?!

She looked back up at her friend with a hard look. "Kiri, what happened to me? What did I do? Why did they look afraid of me?!"

After a long pause, the woman sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I don't really know what happened, to be honest. One minute you were fine, and the next... Aito came to get me. When I got here, you looked... different." She looked away and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"Different?" Natsumi crossed her arms and nibbled on her lower lip, picking at the dry skin with her teeth. "Different how?"

Kiri opened her mouth, shut it again, opened it again, and then closed it once more.

"Kiri..." Natsumi muttered and gave her a long stare.

"Like I said... I'm not sure how to describe it." Kiri let out a slow breath and scratched her cheek. "You weren't acting like yourself... and your eyes... they were kind of..."

"Kind of what?"

"Red." Kiri answered quietly. "And slitted."

Natsumi froze and stared at her. "...What?"

Kiri laughed out loud and waved her hand. "It sounds ridiculous, I know. It was probably just some trick of the light. No need to look so worried."

Kiri turned to face away and Natsumi frowned.

Why is she lying to me? She's never lied to me before.

Natsumi crossed her arms. "I know you're hiding something, Kiri. And I want to know what you're thinking about that's got you so serious."

Kiri blinked and looked back to her and scratched her head. "Natsumi... that's..."

"And I also want to know about our mission and why you haven't said anything about it, yet."

"We failed, Natsumi." She shrugged. "There isn't much else to say. But, that doesn't matter at all because you and Sena are more important."

Natsumi's frown deepend. "I mean... what happened to the information we were supposed to get? And what happened to that boy?"

"Don't worry about it." Kiri smiled faintly. "Lord Hokage sent a team after us once Mori reported to him. The intel was recovered."

Natsumi let out a breath.

Well, that's good news, at least. But still... She watched Kiri's eyes carefully. She's still not telling me everything.

"Kiri." Natsumi started. "I know you're hiding things. I can see it in your eyes. You're not telling me everything about the mission, and you're definitely hiding something about me. When I mentioned Naruto, you had this... look." She shook her head. "I want to know everything. I don't like to be lied to— especially by my friend."

Kiri crossed her arms and furrowed her brows, looking back at Natsumi.

"Okay, look; I'm not naïve, and I'm not stupid, either. I know from your face that you were hiding something from me earlier. It's not hard to tell with you because you're not good yet at masking your emotions. But, let's be honest here— I didn't push you about it because I know that people have their own reasons for keeping secrets, especially from friends."

Natsumi opened her mouth to defend herself, then closed her mouth and pressed her lips together tightly.

Damn! She got me.

"I respect your reasons, Natsumi." Kiri continued. "Even if I feel like you should tell me... I know that people have their own reasons for keeping secrets. And if I was keeping a secret from you, I'd hope that you respected my reasons, too."

Natsumi swallowed and looked downward.

She's... got a point...

"Besides..." Kiri shrugged and smiled. "How do you know that you're not just projecting your own anxiety and hoping that I'm hiding something, because you really want answers? Maybe I just don't have them."

Natsumi met her eyes, tilting her head slightly. "...It almost seems like you're just trying to use psychology to manipulate my perception and make me doubt myself so that I stop being suspicious of you."

Kiri laughed. "Think what you want. I'm just looking out for you, you know."

Natsumi sighed heavily and her eyes rested on Kiri's arms.

"Still... there's got to be a reason for... that. It's not normal."

Kiri shrugged again and mussed her hair. "Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried by it. As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

"But—"

"No buts." Kiri winked and stood. "I've got an errand to run, but I'll be back to visit later, okay? I'll bring some cards and I'll teach you to play Poker. How's that sound?"

Natsumi smiled faintly and laughed under her breath. "Teaching a minor to gamble? That seems irresponsible."

Kiri laughed. "You say irresponsible, I say fun." She started towards the door. "Make sure you get plenty of rest. We've gotta get you back into fighting shape before your brother gets back, or else he's going to get mad at me for not looking after you well enough."

"Okay." Natsumi nodded slowly, her stomach twisting into knots. As Kiri opened the door, she looked back up. "Kiri, wait."

The woman stopped with her back turned to her. "Yeah?"

"If you were really keeping a secret from me... an important one... and it was about me... you know that I know that I'd have the right to know it." Natsumi laced her fingers together. "Whatever your reasons were, hypothetically, it'd still be my right to know something about myself. And, you're one of my only friends. If I couldn't trust you..."

The sides of Kiri's mouth twitched in a slight smile and she turned to look at the girl over her shoulder.

"Natsumi, you know I'd never do anything but look out for you. You can trust me."

There was a pause and Kiri waved. "I'll be back later, I promise! Just try to rest."

The door clicked shut and Natsumi picked at the blood beneath her nails.

She's lying. She's obviously lying. But... about what? And why?

Kiri walked quickly out of the hospital with her eyes clouded in thought.

"Those eyes of hers... they were just like..." She walked faster. "But she's not..."

She shook her head and held up a hand sign and disappeared with Body Flicker, reappearing in front of the Hokage's building. Taking in a deep breath, she walked inside, up to the main office, and threw open the door.

Yuuri turned and scowled at the intrusion as Hiruzen looked up from the papers he'd been reviewing.

"We're in the middle of a meeting." Yuuri glared.

Kiri stepped toward the desk and furrowed her brows, ignoring her sister as she placed her palms on the desk with the scratches on her arms exposed.

"Kiri." He sat upright and took the pipe out of his mouth and let out a tendril of smoke, looking over her arms. "What is so important that you barged in here?"

Kiri's stare intensified. "It's time we had that talk, Old Man."

"Talk? What talk?" Yuuri crossed her arms and stared at Kiri. "Whatever you think is so important, it can wait."

The man's expression shifted. "I'm not sure what you mean, Miss Ueno."

Kiri scowled and pulled up her sleeves to emphasize the scratches. "You know damn well what I mean, Hiruzen."

He placed the pipe between his lips and laced his fingers together, bringing his hands to his mouth with grim seriousness. "...I see. That conversation."

"The one you've been putting off for a decade now." Kiri crossed her arms. "It's long overdue."

He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes momentarily. "I suppose it is." He opened his eyes and looked at Yuuri. "I apologize, but I have to ask you to leave now. We'll resume our meeting later."

Yuuri opened her mouth, then shut it tightly with a glare and her lips formed a hard line as she spoke through gritted teeth. "...Yes, Lord Third."

Once they were alone, Hiruzen turned his attention back to Kiri, holding the pipe away from his mouth.

"Now then... what exactly is this about?"

"You know what already..." Kiri placed her hands back on the desk, narrowing her eyes and lowering her voice. "The daughter of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Jinchuriki."